Taken from “Why God Incarnates; How Baba Prompts Us
From Within; Kodaikanal Stories; Renouncing Doership and Enjoyership;
Be Aware What To Ask Swami For; Stories of Swami’s Protection and
Glory”, August 1st, 1999

I should also tell you another instance. There is one gentleman by
the name of Karunyananada, a red-robed man who stayed here for a
long time. Most of you must have seen him. Karunyananda stayed there
in South Prashanthi Block I. He spent quite a long period in the
company of Swami. Somebody asked him, "Sir, have you ever been a
witness to any miracles while you were directly in the company of
Swami?" Karunyananada said, "Yes, why not!" And then he told this
story.

One day Swami was going with Karunyananada towards Whitefield. There
in the front seat of the car sat Dr. Bhagavantam. In the back seat,
Swami and Karunyananda were sitting. They were travelling towards
Whitefield. Suddenly Swami fell down while struggling. Karunyananada
got up hurriedly and stopped the car and made Swami rest fully in
that back seat. Karunyananada shifted to the front seat. He sat by
the side of Dr. Bhagavantam.

After fifteen minutes, Baba got up. He said, "Karunyananda, are you
afraid of the situation? Don’t worry. Nothing will happen to Me. I
am going to be here in this body for 50-60 years? to come. Nothing
will happen." And then He spoke to Bhagavantam: "Don’t worry. Your
wife just now had a paralytic attack. I went there and saved her.
She is fine now." Tell me, friends, anybody who will share our
difficulties? Who will take upon themselves our sickness? Who will
put themselves to stress and strain and pain with no gain, with no
expectation of return? Show me anybody in this world! Swami told,
"Look here Bhagavantam. Your wife had a paralytic attack. I went
there and I saved her. That is why I fell down here. Now she is all
right." Who else would say that!

There in Brindavan a few years ago it happened that Swami did not
give darshan for three or four days continuously. Swami was
seriously sick. Doctors started telling that in both His heartbeat
and pulse something was wrong. We got our own medical reports
information…the backdoor information. On the fourth day Swami came
and said, "There is one Bal Vikas teacher from Nainital. She has
four children. She had a serious heart attack and she might collapse
anytime. And she has been separated from her husband. Poor lady! She
has to take care of her children. Who will save her? That is why I
went there. All of these four days I stayed there in Nainital to
save My devotee!" This is an instance to show that Swami is always
with us, watching us and taking care of us. This is the assurance
given in Bhagavad Gita: "Whosoever cries, whosoever prays to Me, I
will be with him."

There in the United States one of our devotees attended a music
concert. The artist happened to be Ferguson, a famous trumpet
player. He is a very jovial, nice chap. He gave a music concert and
our devotee of Bhagavan Baba also attended that program. The
devotees were sitting in a corner. As a Sai devotee, what is it you
would like to offer? We give a Swami photograph or a vibhuthi
packet. These people had with them a very beautiful picture of Baba.
But they were thinking, "How shall we give it to Ferguson? He is
there on the dais, playing all the while." (You have to understand
when Ferguson plays, he not only plays but his whole body starts
swaying to his tune.)

Those people were feeling badly that they could not figure out a way
to hand over this photograph. Suddenly while playing, Ferguson got
off the dais and started moving among the audience. He stopped right
in front of the couple and took Swami’s photograph. He showed it to
everybody and then he said, "I will play a special song for Sai
devotees at that music concert." Then the devotees who attended the
music concert wrote like this: "My prayer has been answered, Baba.
How well You take care of us! How You have concern for us! How You
wanted me to pass on this photograph! Such a simple thing! But it is
proof enough to say that You are always with me, Swami. You are in
me. You are with me Bhagavan. There is nothing that I can hide from
Your knowledge. You know just how to answer my prayers!" There is a
beautiful article written by that gentleman.

I also want to tell you another very important story. There is one
gentleman by the name of Narayan, Shankara Narayan, an IAS Officer
whose character was transformed. He served there in the northern
corner of this country in the state named Tripura. As an officer he
was posted there in a place named Ajantha. This man Shankar Narayan,
who was also a Sai devotee, had to work there at the army camp
because it was the time of the Pakistan war and there was bombing
everywhere. The people were trying to go back to their places, in
fear of the bombings. But this Shankar Narayan called to everybody
and told them, "Look here! Swami will protect us. We do not need to
run away from this place here in the state of Tripura. We do not
need to run away from here. Swami will take care of us. Do not
worry!"

His friends responded like this: "Bombing everywhere! You say ‘Do
not be afraid,’ yet we hear the sounds of the bombs and shelling is
going on everywhere!" Then what did they do? They started doing
bhajans. My friends, it is recorded in the records of the
government: "Except the places where the bhajans were held, the rest
of the places were bombed!" The rest of the places were seriously
damaged, but the places where they did bhajans, they were safe in
the Hands of Swami!

Swami was telling in a discourse the other day that Naradha was once
asking Lord Vishnu, "Vishnu, where are You? I know You have branch
offices. But You are not seen there at any one of Your branch
offices. I want to know where is Your head office. Please give me
Your latest visiting card." And God gave him a visiting card. What
was that address? "My devotee whenever he sings My glory, I install
Myself there. O Naradha, take My address! I am found wherever My
glory is sung." So this is the experience of Shankar Narayan and
friends who could see Swami’s presence whenever they started singing
the praises of Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

There in that place called Agathara, there was one family where in
that house lived only one lady staying there with her son. The
husband was hiding there in the closet. The Pakistani soldiers were
striking right there. A lady with her son who was all alone! Just
understand her situation. What to do? She started crying and singing
the glory of Swami. Next morning the war stopped and the Indian
soldiers declared success and victory over there near the borders.
The war stopped and the soldiers marched off. Then she said, "Swami
saved me, my kindly husband, and my country as well." This is how
Bhagavan responds to our prayers every time whenever we look to Him.

On the trip to Kodaikanal, Bhagavan started distributing saris to
all the air hostesses there on the Indian Airlines aircraft. I said
then, "Swami, you are giving costly saris to the air hostesses. Why?
Because they receive a very high salary! Air hostesses there are
very well-paid. Why do You give these costly saris?" Then He asked,
"Are you jealous?" And He added, "I will give you a sari." I
answered, "Swami, there is no chance. I cannot wear a sari in this
life! Let me try next life." And I did not stop at this. Further I
said, "Swami, if I were to wear a sari now, I am sure that I would
be more beautiful than most of the ladies here!" He laughed and
laughed saying, "Is that so?" "Next life I will try to wear saris,"
I said. Then immediately He looked straight into my eyes and said,
"Why? Why sari? Why should you say that you will be born again? That
too in the form of a woman! Why don’t you pray that you should not
be born again? You should have Mukti. You should have moksha,
liberation. Why do you say that?"

Then I told softly, "Swami, nobody told me how liberation is,
whether it is sweet or hot, whether Mukti is tall or short, whether
it is fair or dark? I do not know. But, as a human being, speaking
about You, talking about You, singing Your glory, I know the charm
and the beauty of it. So I do not want Mukti, no! I am sure! I want
to be born again and again. I want to be the State President of Sri
Sathya Sai Organization in Andhra Pradesh and I want to propagate
Your message, to go to every village and talk and sing about You!
That is what I want. I do not want that liberation. Oh no, I do not
want it!" Then He said, "Hey!" so nicely and He added, "It is so
good to hear about it." So, my friends, we ask for certain things
about which we do not really know. Is it not unfortunate? Are we
really prepared? So Bhagavan Baba explains several things for us. We
find new revelations every time.